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The Fourteen Tasks
In a Nutshell: These are the 14 progressive steps of initiation in the Dragon Book system. These are discussed in depth in the section entitled 'Grades of the Crooked Path', which begins on pp824. Where to find them: Page 17 Page 824-828 The Tasks: # The Preparation of the Corpse ## The basics- Chumbley suggests study, meditation, concentration, yoga, exercise, prayer, and the honing of the intent/will for the inner preparation, and the creation of the magical weapons for the outer preparation. Also generally overcoming one's limitations (so not too distinct from Liber O and Liber IX, basically) # The Sacred Marriage ## Presumably when one undertakes the Marriage rite. # The Consummation ## Attained after undergoing the Rite of the Black Sun. Point of unification between the Seeker and the Elder Gods (pp825). # The Birth of the Dragon-Vessel ## Attained when the vessel is consecrated and set it in the shrine, apparently. Hallowing the Kingdom is used to develop one's understanding of this grade. # The Pact of Blood and Starlight ## "Attained by the initial working of the Stellar Transvocation." (pp826) Point of this grade is to use the Transvocation to assume the entire body of the Dragon. # The Path of the Fourteen Celestial Palaces ## Attained by the regular use of the Transvocation and the fourteen accompanying spells. Developed by using this daily as the underlying basis for all other practices. ### Note here (pp826) that during the yearly working of the Thu'ban Rite, the 6th and 7th degrees are unified as the 0th degree. # The Sabbat of the Lightless Moon ## Attained when one first works the Oracle rite on the first Dark Moon of the year. Work involves focusing on the dark lunar periods, and by basically perfecting the Oracle Rite. # The Mystery of Hu ## Attained through the Hu rite, and the Azha-Hu practice. # The Mystery of the Turnskin ## Attained through the Sa rite, and the Ma-Shua practice. # The Mystery of the Red and Black Serpent ## Attained through the Ba rite, and the Saba practice. # The Mystery of the Phoenix and the Seven Stars ## Attained through the Ku rite, the Ra, Ia-Ra-Khu and Al Mandal Behenu practices, the contemplative formula of 'The Key to the Star-locked Casket of the Seven Celestial Scrolls', and the subsidary practice of 'Bha-Ia: Dancing with-out Motion upon the Capstone of Al Qaf Saba.' # The Mystery of Embracing in the Dragon's Coils ## Attained through the La rite, and the practice of Ku-La. # The Mystery of the Five Watchers ## Attained through the rite of Tan, centred around the mysteries of the Four Watchers. Also the practice of Al Tannat La. # The Mystery of the Returning Dead ## Attained through the Hua rite, various other ancestral mysteries, and the practice of Tan-Azh-Hua. # The Zeroth Degree ## Full master of the Crooked Path. It has three levels of accomplishments: Outer, Inner and Secret Attainments. Chumbley elaborates on this a bit: ### Outer Attainment is achieved through working the Thu'Ban Rite, the reason being that to work it properly, you'd need to be experienced all the points of the Transvocation already. ### Inner Attainment is achieved when one has worked through the entire series of rites, thus passing through the Fourteen Ordeals. The ability to apply one's knowledge as a result of this is seen as a sign of Inner Mastery. ### Secret Attainment is achieved by passing through the 'Devil's Masquerade'. Chumbley is vague on whether this is a separate only known to the inner circle of the Column, or if it is an inner initiation directly from the Hidden Intercessor (I suspect the latter). Notes: While these are presented as grades of the system, it's probably better to think of them as 'tasks', rather than a chronological list of steps as such. Task 7 would be accomplished before 6, for example, if Chumbley's instruction to do the first Stellar Transvocation after the first Black Moon Rite is followed. The note before HU states that you shouldn't proceed with the rite unless you have accomplished tasks 1-7 first. Besides being necessary anyway (e.g. if you haven't burned the Marriage Vessel and consecrated the Dragon Vessel you can't move forward anyway), it's also probably intended as a method of weeding out the lukewarm- you're three months into the ritual cycle by the time you get to HU, so if you're not committed by that point, it's time to stop before you get in too deep. Notice that there are three basic movements in this initiatory process- Life//Death/Rebirth (1-4), linking oneself to the current (5-7), and then the Seven Mysteries (8-14). On pp 803, we see that those completing tasks 1-7 are Apprentices, those completing 8-14 are Journeymen, and those who have completed the full cycle are Masters. Obviously, this has a relationship with Masonry, where a Master Mason is considered a 'full' initiate, just as a Master is considered fully initiated in the Dragon Book system. On pp826, it says that the first 7 grades are the basics, the more advanced stuff comes after this. If you have attained the first 7, you are a Sworn Apprentice of the Hidden Intercessor. Grades 8-14 are the main core of the system. As with the A.'.A.'. grades, they can be worked in sequential order, but don't necessarily have to be (if my reading of the text is correct). Attaining this makes you a Sworn Journeyman of the Crooked Path.